You go to Jack Rose for the whiskey. I get it. Believe me—nobody gets it as much as I do. But they damn sure are doing their best these days to bring you through the front door for other reasons, and a quick walk-through of new executive chef Jon de Paz’s menu overhaul proves that yes, there are plenty of alternative, and delicious, reasons to make your next visit. Chef de Paz brings a lofty resume to the Jack Rose team, having worked in establishments such as Eleven Madison Park, The NoMad, and The French Laundry, to name a few, not to mention D.C.’s short-lived but ambitious Shaw Bijou. In addition to heading the Jack Rose kitchen, he’ll also be spearheading the group’s next venture—The Imperial—slated for a late 2017 opening. Since taking the reins at Jack Rose in March, de Paz has built his menu from the ground up, broadening the range of what you may expect to find at the restaurant. A scant few dishes remain from the menu which preceded him—choice starters like fried chicken skins, and accompaniments such as biscuits with pimento cheese spread, just had to stay—and de Paz is intent on keeping the menu fresh and seasonal. You’ll regret things if you don’t start your meal with the burrata, a luscious preparation with honey, hazelnuts, Asian pear, and lemon oil. Not to mention the gorgeous steak tartare served with egg yolk fudge and toasted baguette. Seasonal starters on the current menu include salmon “Mi-Cuit”—essentially “half-cooked” in French and a textural marvel— served with Swiss chard, golden Yukon potatoes, and assorted sauces, and the vivacious summer squash ravioli, with ricotta, mint, and a shallot emulsion, topped by the addictive crunch and salt of a carefully fried squash blossom. Heartier mains are also available, such as halibut paired with sauteed shrimp, Berkshire pork with wilted kale, white asparagus puree, and apple and ramp relish, and venison tenderloin, expertly cooked and offered with a savory-jammy kumquat marmalade, parsnips, and charred radicchio. Of course, to wash all this down, you’re probably perusing the whiskey selection. Again—I get it. But just as de Paz wants to bring you in for his cuisine, the rest of the Jack Rose team wants to bring you in for all the other great libations on hand. Wine pairings are still where you’ll...

San Antonio’s Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling has just launched an intriguing experimental series allowing whiskey fans to do a side-by-side comparison based on the effects of barrel size and maturation time. The Ranger Creek Bourbon Barrel Experiment showcases two dueling bourbons which each began life as the same fresh distillate. One is their .36 Small Caliber Series Bourbon, bottled in a small 375ml bottle to indicate it was aged in small barrels. Its new big brother is the .36 Texas Bourbon, matured in full-size barrels and bottled in standard 750ml bottles. How do the two bourbons stack up? Which is better? Let’s dive in. .36 Small Caliber Series Bourbon Bottled at 48% ABV, the Small Caliber was aged for 11 months in small casks. The nose was relatively light, with fruits and apples, along with green wood. It was drier than expected at the start of the palate, with doughy biscuits and oak. That dry, tannic oak continues throughout the finish with sprinkled hints of baking spices and light vanilla. Score: 82/100 .36 Texas Bourbon Bottled at the same strength, the Texas Bourbon was aged for a minimum of two years in full-size barrels. The nose offers spicy oak and biscuit, as well as vanilla and toffee, shifting to toast, baking spices, and oak on the palate. A somewhat hot but overall smooth finish offers brown sugar and cinnamon. This one is much more robust, there’s a layered complexity and richness that the Small Caliber didn’t showcase, which came off flat. Score: 87/100 The winner for me was clear. Fine, I’ll say it—size matters— and that reflects the traditionalist’s view of whiskey maturation. But hey, you might feel differently about the two above. The point of the side-by-side release is to allow you to discover your taste preference while learning more about the maturation process and how it affects the final product. “The goal is to allow you to compare the two and make up your own mind about which you prefer,” said co-founder Mark McDavid. Six years after the distillery began making bourbon, that goal has been reached. And if the new .36 Texas Bourbon indicates what the future holds for Ranger Creek, there’s going to be some excellent whiskey on the way in the years...

Original Grain crafts their watches with a combination of wood and steel, and they’ve been known to get quite creative with where they source that wood. That’s the case with their Alterra Chrono Whiskey watch which is— you guessed it—made in part from whiskey barrels. Original Grain reclaims American oak that’s been hard at work aging whiskey for up to four years. As we know, bourbon producers can only use their...

Bulleit set out on a search to find the best boilermaker tandem for their whiskeys. I boldly stepped up to the plate to help them in the endeavor, but decided to bring a local twist to the effort—seeking out unique DC craft brews for my beer and whiskey combos, highlighting some of what’s happening in the local beer scene. Here are the results. Bulleit Bourbon & 3 Stars Brewing Madness Old Stock Ale First up, I tried a...

I certainly don’t keep the busiest travel schedule or log the most miles among my friends and colleagues in the world of spirits, food, travel, and lifestyle journalism, but nevertheless 2016 proved to be a year well spent on the road. Here are half a dozen highlights, along with links to where you can read all about the adventures for yourself. Ireland—St. Patrick’s Day with Jameson (March) If anybody knows how to...

Virginia’s Catoctin Creek Distilling announced today that they’ve sold a minority stake in the distillery to Constellation Brands. Catoctin Creek is just the latest domino to fall—and it’s particularly noteworthy news here in the D.C. area—as many of the country’s best and most mature craft whiskey producers continue to be cherry-picked by larger companies and corporations. That’s not to say it’s a...

Man Talk Food is going Man Talk Style today, thanks to a fun collaboration between Bulleit Bourbon, and Noble Denim. The American-made denim company is releasing a limited edition line of denim jean jackets which were partially aged in Bulleit barrels. So how in the world does that actually work? The folks at Noble Denim took the corduroy collars used for the jackets, and aged them in a freshly-dumped barrel from Bulleit for several...